The role of endoscopic surgery for completely obstructive endobronchial benign tumor

Background: The improving techniques of therapeutic bronchoscopy have been replacing conventional surgery for resecting endobronchial benign tumor. However, there could be some limitation for performing bronchoscopic intervention for the patients with complete bronchial obstruction. To evaluate the role of endoscopic surgery for completely obstructive endobronchial benign tumor, we retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 7 patients who underwent bronchoscopic resection due to completely obstructive benign tumor. Methods: Rigid bronchoscopy was performed under general anesthesia. After the stalk of tumor was identified with using a 1 mm biopsy forceps as a probe, a Nd-YAG laser was used to coagulate the stalk of tumor. The tumor was then removed. Results: Bronchoscopic resection was successful in 6 out of 7 patients. The histological diagnoses were 3 leiomyomas, 3 harmatomas and 1 lipoma. There was no mortality in our study. Pneumomediastinum developed in 1 patient, and this patient was treated with 3 days of oxygen therapy. In 5 out of the 6 successful patients, there was no recurrence for a median of 35 months. In 1 patient, leiomyoma recurred after 17 months, and this was treated by pneumonectomy. Conclusions: Endoscopic surgery could be applied to the patients with completely obstructive endobronchial benign tumor.